Sunday, August 30, 2015

We
were going to the seaside few days ago when two carabinieri stopped
the car. They had bullet proof vests and submachine guns. It seemed
to me that they were seeking for some Mafioso. I was talking about it
with my husband’s friend. He lives in Rome where hundreds of people
paid their final respects to clan 'leader' Vittorio Casamonica.

Six
black horses, black-and-gold carriage, helicopter pilot who flew over
the city to drop the petals… Vittorio
Casamonica The funeral “transformed into an ostentatious show
of mafia power” which certainly makes the part of Italian life.
P.’s mother lives in Naples.

Every morning she buys
bread in supermarket which belongs to mafia. G. is from Salerno. He
says that every businessman has to pay something to mafia. Later on
we were talking about Angelo’s friend. “He’s very picky eater.
He doesn’t like fruits at all!” – Someone said. “He eats it
very well only that his mother has to peel it off for him!” –
Someone else insisted. Another typical of Southern Italy…

Sunday, August 23, 2015

I
was going on the bike. A couple of kilometers before Okszów there is
a pathway. Usually I would go there to avoid the traffic. Few weeks
ago I noticed police car parked. A policeman started talking to me.
“Are you afraid of the cars?” – He asked. “You cannot go
there on the bike!” He left me only to stop another cyclist.

It
reminded me a story from 2008 if I remember well. The policemen were
told that in certain road drunken cyclists’ were seen very often.
They parked their car in the corner and waited… In the middle of
the night the policemen heard a big noise. They were surprised to see
someone’s head inside the car.

It
turned out that drunken cyclist bumped against them and broke car
window! It was a big story in all Chełm’s newspapers. Anyway we
are going to Italy after five weeks in Poland. We were lucky this
time – about three weeks of good weather. I will miss Okszów. I
can’t wait to go back again!

Sunday, August 16, 2015

My
father wanted to do everything in his own way. If you’d tell him to
go right he would go left for sure. Dad had a small farm and always
used to keep some chickens. Once upon a time there was a cheeky bird
in his brood. For some time the very aggressive cock was our
nightmare.

Sometimes
he would “welcome” me at the gate – I was escaping from the
cockfighter. Also my mum and brother used to hate him. We begged dad
to kill him but he would always refuse. “You’re silly! It’s a
good bird!” – He used to say. One day I saw the cock jumping on
my father’s shoulders, scratching and pecking him.

The
same day we had greasy chicken soup. Been talking about it with
Kazik, my father’s old friend. The past seemed so beautiful – I
almost missed the cheeky bird. “Enjoy yourself. These are the good
old days you’re going to miss in the future.” – They say. But
passed years will remain with us forever.

Friday, August 7, 2015

I
lost few pounds recently. I’m certainly proud of myself – after
some five years I’ve lost the “baby weight”. We went to a
festival some time ago. I noticed young mother dancing with her
children. She was much bigger than me but she didn’t seem to worry
about the extra weight. My friend Patrycja
posted this photo on her fb page.

“I
want to tell you something.” – She wrote. “I'm not pregnant but
love my belly and body the way it is. I’m working on it but it’s
nobody’s business that I’m ‘fat'.
I’m positive that if someone loves/hates/likes/despises or respects
me it’s not because of the way I look but for who I am”.

Sometimes
extra weight is literally ruining woman’s life. Being “fat” can
become an obsession. Nothing can stops you from comparing yourself
with every skinny girl… Why? Patrycja is right – if someone
really loves you, it’s not because of your fat/slim bottom. And if
he does he’s clearly not the right one.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

“I’ve
been working for 35 years but I’m not sixty yet!” – S.
revealed.”Recently I got a letter from Pension Office. If I would
have retired I’d get 900 zł per month” (about 155 pounds). S.
and her husband have worked hard their whole life, but when their
kids wanted to study, she had found a care assistant job in Italy.

The photo from: Io mangio e bevo lucano

She
went there on a bus. The trip to Sicily lasted 55 hours. Along with
her there were other women from Chełm. “One of them made me
afraid!” – S. told me. “You’ll eat only water and bread with
oil to eat, she said. ‘How many times are you going to Italy?’ –
Someone else asked her. ‘I’s my fourth time!” – She said. ‘So
you like bread and oil, don’t you?”

Hard-working
S. also went there few times in the next years. She had learned
Italian, her employers liked her. “They offered to find a job also
for my husband. He would earn good money!” – She told me. Still
they decided not to leave Poland. To me it’s best patriotism.